aesc | reading

bend your branches down
ER | ~4700 words | Luka/Carter(/Gillian) | Thanks to

trinityofone for betaing. Set during ER 9.22, "Kisangani." Some lines of dialogue taken directly from the episode.

(Also on AO3)

( Gillian said, 'You should join me and Luka tonight.' )

mrkinch

The weather wasn't any better today than the last two days of fog and wind, but I wore many layers and managed to go anyway. I guess it was worth it? I didn't park until half an hour after sunrise but when it's so heavily overcast it may not matter much. My list is almost entirely residents; I heard or saw only three migrant breeders, Orange-crowned and Wilson's Warblers, and Lazuli Bunting. I found no flycatchers and heard just one woodpecker. It felt like nobody was home.:) ( The list: )

I almost turned back at the corner because of the ticks. I have never seen so many ticks on this trail, still not mowed, and my new bug stuff was useless. But I'd gotten that far and didn't want to go back through tick-filled grass when the rest of the trail was somewhat more open, so I went to the end. There was nothing of special interest out there, but I'm glad I persevered.

seleneheart

1. Have you ever been to summer camp?
Every summer from the time I was seven until sixteen. The best two weeks of the whole summer. The camp was on land owned by the company my father worked for, and since it was one of the biggest employers in town, lots of kids I knew from school were there too and kids from some of the other schools in the area. It was in the middle of nowhere, had to take a bus most of the way there, and then walk the rest. One time, one of the girls in my cabin decided she was going to wear her swim suit the whole two weeks and not take it off. Not for horse back riding, not for archery, not for overnight camping in the woods. She did shower though. She was one of the cool girls, so she got away with it without much shame or harassment. Site of my first kiss. Where my counselor read us The Little Prince and I had to go find that book when I got home. Where we did crafts with substances that I think are illegal in this country now - I googled them a few years ago - wire dipping. And clacker balls. And so so many lanyards. But, yeah, I loved that place. You had to earn the right to come back as a counselor, which I did for one summer, but then I got involved in other stuff in high school that took up my summers, so I stopped. It closed down, and the company sold all the land. It's been clear cut and the cabins bulldozed. But there's a Facebook group keeping the memories alive.

2. Have you ever made a s'more?
Yes, many times.

3. Have you ever slept under the stars (no tent/tarp)? Yes, several times. Both at camp above and later in college.

4. Have you ever had a member of the opposite sex sleep over at your house?
What are we, twelve? Yes, yes I have.

5. What type of bed do you have (queen, twin, bunk, etc.)?
A queen bed. My cozy place.

mood nostalgic
music Michael Martin Murphy - Carolina in the Pines

mrkinch

U and I walked out Loop Road to the bench this morning. I had sent her a recording of the amazingly loud Western Tanager song and while the birdsong in general was not quite as overwhelming as a week ago, we did hear Western Tanager and even saw two! U took a photo that accompanied the list, since the algorithm has changed the list and the species is now "unusual". We heard nothing at the Red-breasted Nuthatch tree but U found what was probably a newly-fledged family of Anna's Hummingbirds, i.e., three female/juvenile plumage birds together. The Western Wood-pewee family was not in evidence, though there was I think a single bird singing, but we heard three Olive-sided Flycatchers easily distinguishable by their very different songs, which was very interesting. ( The list: )

There seemed to be wheezy baby Chestnut-backed Chickadees everywhere and the Dark-eyed Juncos must be done nesting, at least for this round, because they were all along the road, flashing their white outer tail feathers.

seleneheart

A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher

Blurb:

Cordelia knows her mother is unusual. Their house doesn’t have any doors between rooms, and her mother doesn't allow Cordelia to have a single friend—unless you count Falada, her mother's beautiful white horse. The only time Cordelia feels truly free is on her daily rides with him. But more than simple eccentricity sets her mother apart. Other mothers don’t force their daughters to be silent and motionless for hours, sometimes days, on end. Other mothers aren’t sorcerers.

After a suspicious death in their small town, Cordelia’s mother insists they leave in the middle of the night, riding away on Falada’s sturdy back, leaving behind all Cordelia has ever known. They arrive at the remote country manor of a wealthy older man, the Squire, and his unwed sister, Hester. Cordelia’s mother intends to lure the Squire into marriage, and Cordelia knows this can only be bad news for the bumbling gentleman and his kind, intelligent sister.

Hester sees the way Cordelia shrinks away from her mother, how the young girl sits eerily still at dinner every night. Hester knows that to save her brother from bewitchment and to rescue the terrified Cordelia, she will have to face down a wicked witch of the worst kind.

I've had this on my 'Want to read' list for a while. I've previously read T. Kingfisher's The Halcyon Fairy Book, which is her annotations of various fairy tales, plus some bonus original fairy tales/retellings, so I was intrigued to read a full novel based on a fairy tale, in this case The Goose Girl.

A really great read - interesting to see all the elements of the original fairy tale woven into a full length book, including the geese. The horror elements in most Grimm fairy tales are fully fleshed out here, so be ready for that. It's hard to know when/where this is set. In the author's notes, she references the Regency Period, but it isn't really set in Britain. Some fantasy version of it, perhaps.

mood awake
music Marina - I Am Not a Robot

sage

( books (Palmer, Davis, Liu, Trungpa, Trungpa, Adams) )

dirt
Yay, the ginger root I planted has FINALLY sent up a shoot! Boo: Thursday I found the evidence of chomped leaves in the terrarium, meaning the snail is an omnivore and had to go, so I scooped it up with a spoon and put it outside...where the lemon tree has a whole actual branch now! The leaves are still tiny, but I'm so glad to see it come back to life. Meanwhile, the arugula died, which was sort of expected. I have more seed so I can just plant more. But I probably need to sterilize the soil, given the whole thrips situation. Also, I harvested a double handful of rattlesnake beans and am waiting on the rest to be of size to pick. I put more seed to soak yesterday and planted them today.

yarning
I went to yarn group on Sunday and finished the bodies of two kickbunnies and worked on a head. My shoulder ached but didn't scream, so that's a relative win. Then I voted in the municipal runoff. It remains hard to get motivated to crochet during the week. This is frustrating.

#resist
June 3 to 9: Target Boycott
June 14: Flag Day & No King's Day (Trump's Birthday) Protest
June 19: Juneteenth Protest
June 27: Stonewall Anniversary Protest
June 24 to 30: McDonald’s Boycott
July 4: Independence Day Boycott and Protest

I hope all of you are doing well! <333

siria

Has anyone else been having issues trying to get access to AO3 over the last week or so? I repeatedly get SSL Handshake errors when I try to load a page or to post a fic, and it's very frustrating.

( ER, Season 15 )

( The Maltese Falcon )

siria

One Boyfriend, Free with Purchase
The Old Guard | Joe/Nicky | ~1400 words | For

sheafrotherdon.

(Also on AO3)

( Nicky goes out in search of a new mattress, and gets more than he bargained for. )

mrkinch

In Chris's absence, U and I walked the boardwalk up to the Lake and back, sitting for a long time at the Lake watching the Anna's Hummingbird on her nest and a Brown Creeper disappearing into a hole in the loose bark of a snag with beakful after beakful of nest material. That was great fun. And although the Nuttall's Woodpecker nest we found last week appeared to have been vacated, there was what seemed to be a family of recently fledged Downy Woodpeckers near the Lake. I don't think I've seen/heard as many Downys in one day as today. THe Chestnut-backed Chickadees were fledging, as well, and we watched on chasing their parent and begging thile beginning to find food for themselves, and right beside my head! They were too intent to bother about us. ( The list: )

mrkinch

I walked Lower Packrat not terribly early because although it's Sunday it's overcast, windy and cold so there weren't many people. There were no specially interesting birds although the list is reasonably long. The Anna's Hummingbird is still on her nest at Jewel Lake, and I heard an Olive-sided Flycatcher, which I don't always down there. The Swainson's Thrushes and Black-headed Grosbeaks were singing but not so much the Warbling Vireos, though I heard one scolding, possibly because there was a Cooper's Hawk around. ( The list: )

I had decided I should try Lower Packrat Trail to see whether perhaps I could do it with U tomorrow since Chris is away. And I can do it, but not sure about two days in a row right now.:(

siria

( Doctor Who, Season 41/16/2/Whatever )

( ER, Seasons 12-14 )

( The Librarian: Return to King Solomon’s Mines )

( The Librarian: The Curse of the Judas Chalice )

seleneheart

The last couple of books I read gave me two more bingos. I'm currently reading books that will satisfy the two remaining squares with a theme, and then I'll just put whatever I read after that on the free space.

mood busy
music The Flaming Lips - She Don't Use Jelly

siria

Both Normal to Want and Possible to Achieve
The Pitt | Robby/Collins | ~7000 words | Thanks to

sheafrotherdon and

trinityofone for audiencing/betaing.

(Also on AO3)

( 'I hear that you're concerned about the risks associated with geriatric pregnancies—' Robby said, 'You think that's what I'm really hung up on here?' Or, Robby gets knocked up. )

seleneheart

The Body in the Garden by Katharine Schellman

Blurb:

London 1815. Newly widowed Lily Adler returns to a society that frowns on independent women, but she's no stranger to the glittering world of London's upper crust. She's back in town and eager to have a renaissance with friends, particularly with Lady Serena Walter--from their school days--determined to create a meaningful life for herself even without a husband. She expects scandal, gossip, and secrets. What she doesn't expect, as she's visiting Lady Walter is a dead man laying in her garden.

Lily happened to overhear the man just minutes before he was shot: young, desperate, and attempting blackmail. When she finds out Lord Walter bribes the investigating magistrate to drop the case, Lily is worried, and becomes the only one with the key to catching the killer.

Aided by Navy Captain Jack Hartley and heiress from the West Indies Miss Ofelia Oswald, Lily sets out to discover whether her friend's husband is mixed up in blackmail and murder. The unlikely team sets out to conceal their investigation behind the whirl of London's social season, but the deceased knew secrets about people with power. Secrets that the powerful have desire and influence to keep hidden. Now, Lily will have to uncover the truth, before she becomes the killer's next target.

This is the first mystery in the series - setting the place an time more than the following books. We get more of Lily's backstory and grief over the loss of her husband, and her initial friendship with Ofelia as well as her working relationship with Simon Page. Very enjoyable.

mood exhausted
music Young Heretics - Risk/Loss

mrkinch

An... interesting morning, possibly too soon (I got very tired, but there was enough birdsong to keep me going) and EBMUD has not mowed so it was tick city. I had put repellent on my legs but not on my clothing, so I had to watch for them and brush them off. The top of the first rise, where I like to be for sunrise, was more interesting than usual. There were both Blue-gray Gnatcatchers and at least one Laurence's Goldfinch in the tall weeds on the eastern side of the trail, though unsurprisingly I saw neither species. I head Olive-sided Flycatchers and saw a silent Western Wood-pewee. There were Bewick's wrens singing every where and the Great Horned Owl was hooting well into the morning. ( The list: )

In non-Inspiration Trail news, there was a striped skunk at Channing and Piedmont. I hope they found some good scraps around the frat houses. And a Warbling Vireo was singing just across the road from where I heard one for several summers, which made me happy.

mrkinch

I parked at 6:44 and spent a almost entirely enjoyable two hours walking to the bench, hanging there for a while, and walking back. Everyone was singing! There appeared to be a family of Western Wood-pewees in the usual area north of the bench, and to my surprise, because it's more than a month since I saw it being excavated and I expected the babies to have fledged, there was loud Red-breasted Nuthatch chatter coming from the nest hole in the big snag. ( The list: )

While I was sitting on the bench watching an adorable Bewick's wren, among other birds, I heard California Quail calling from down along the road through the Nature Area, almost certainly that quail pair we've seen several times now. So nice to have them there.

sage

( books (Shaw, a different Shaw, Spinney, Ames, Barkataki, Palmer) )

yarning
ahahaha, etsy. So, out of the blue, I sold 3 things Monday, 2 of which I didn't have in stock and had to make, and guess who hadn't crocheted at all in 3 weeks? And hardly at all for nearly 3 months? Also, I hadn't sold anything through Etsy except patterns in months, or promoted my shop on social media, or even uploaded the few things I've finished lately to my shop. Stupid shoulder, stupid slump. But now I've caught up, I need to jump back into it. And also get the sold items in the mail.

dirt
omg the thrips saga is ongoing. The whole extensive bathroom-greenhouse is at risk, and I've sprayed almost everything in there down with Captain Jack's Dead Bug Brew, whether it's edible or not. Also unfortunate, there are fungus gnats in my terrarium, so along with a Buddha statue, there are 2 yellow sticky trap flags. They really set the tone. Um, not. Also, but fortunately, the snail is 100% NOT a leaf-eater, so I'm hoping it lives on detritus and not something important, like roots. Will have to do more research now that it's large enough to possibly identify.

( healthcrap )

food
I made mujadara for the first time in at least a year, and it turned out so well. I'm glad I used both giant sweet onions, because they were just enough. Also made sunflower arugula pesto. Zucchini noodles are weirdly satisfying, even if they aren't near filling enough. Still having trouble getting anywhere near thirty different plants a week in my diet, and also getting enough protein.

#resist
June 1: Pride LGBTQ Protest
June 3 to 9: Target Boycott
June 14: Flag Day & No King's Day (Trump's Birthday) Protest
June 19: Juneteenth Protest
June 27: Stonewall Anniversary Protest
June 24 to 30: McDonald’s Boycott
July 4: Independence Day Boycott and Protest

a list of resources:
50501, Tesla Takedown, Build The Resistance, The General Strike, Indivisible, Rise & Resist, Move On, The People's Union USA, all but the last taken from 50501's latest Substack post. Plus, on DW:

thisfinecrew and

communityactionusa.

I hope all of y'all are doing well! <333

siria

( ER, Seasons 9-11 )

( The Librarian: Quest for the Spear )

siria

The True Purpose of Tables
Doctor Who | Doctor/Rogue | ~1000 words | Missing scene for 15.07. Thanks to

trinityofone for betaing.

(Also on AO3)

( Rogue's doing the right thing. )

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December 2012

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Page generated Jun. 8th, 2025 06:19 pm

in that sweet and peaceful rest

reading

2511 / Fic - ER

6/7/2025 Inspiration Trail

The Friday Five - Summer/Camping

6/4/2025 Loop Road

Book Bingo: G2 | eBook/Audiobook | A Sorceress Comes to Call

What I'm Doing Wednesday

2510 / ER, S15; The Maltese Falcon

2509 / Fic - The Old Guard

6/2/2025 Tilden Nature Area

6/2/2025 Tilden Nature Area

2508 / Doctor Who; ER, Seasons 12-14; The Librarian II/III

2 More Bingos

2507 / Fic - The Pitt

Book Bingo: B5 | From the Library | The Body in the Garden

5/30/2025 Inspiration Trail

5/29/2025 Loop Road

What I'm Doing Wednesday

2506 / ER, Seasons 9-11; The Librarian: Quest for the Spear

2505 / Fic - Doctor Who

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December 2012

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